The Collective Wisdom

I was reluctant to make the jump to a stand alone phono stage and am glad I did. In my case it was an Electrocompaniet ECP-1. That is well within your budget even with the extra set of good quality interconnects you will need. Good luck finding an Electrocompaniet dealer though.

Luxman also makes a phono stage within your budget, check it out at online retailer *usic *irect.

For this kind of money what I would do first is to replace Rega table and Ortofon cartridge. Used Nottingham Spacedeck/Spacearm with new Dynavector 20X should do it. I would deal with the phono stage after that if needed.

If you like what you've got...keep it. Save your shekles and when you have lots of them, get a REAL step up. It is sooooo expensive to make incremental improvements. Do it right for your satisfaction. and wallet.